Believing in Heroes
by RAMSPEL
Summary: In the aftermath of the events of "Falling" Cat tries to convince her son not to give up on his favorite superhero. A one-shot.
_Author's Note: So during the last episode, when they were showing the montage of everyone in National City losing faith in Supergirl, I thought the show missed a great opportunity to show how Carter now felt about his hero. I thought his perspective would be very interesting because he loves Supergirl, but it was his mom that she threw off a building. And while I'm sure the writers had their reasons for not exploring this angle (run-time, actor availability, whatever) I wanted to explore it myself. Plus, I thought it would be a great opportunity to show a softer side of Cat Grant._

 _Fair warning, this story did not go through my usual process (which is to get an idea run with it, get stuck, put the story aside, come back to it, get stuck again, put it away again, finally finish the rough draft, revise/edit it, nitpick it to death, put it away again, procrastinate some more, finally finish the last draft, and post it—months or maybe even years after it was first conceived) because I thought this would be a better story for people to read while Falling was fresh in everyone's mind. I did still edit this story (many times), but I apologize if you find any mistakes. Your welcome to PM me if you do. Hope you like it._

 _Also, I don't own Supergirl._

* * *

It had been a traumatic few days for the Queen of all Media, but the second she saw the doors of her private elevator open, Cat Grant felt her stress start to ease. Besides her, there was only one other person allowed to use her private elevator, and its arrival signaled the beginning of her week with her son Carter.

As she rose from her desk and went to greet her son, she heard the surprised voice of her assistant.

"Carter. I didn't know you would be coming. How are you?" She said bending down to hug him, but Cat noticed Kara didn't seem as enthusiastic to see him as she usually did.

"I'm good," Carter replied, returning the hug, but he too seemed off.

He usually lit up the second he saw his mother's assistant and would immediately begin to fill her in on whatever was happening in his life. Carter had always been a shy kid, but Kara was one of the few people he felt really comfortable with and would open up to. But today he seemed distracted.

"Carter." Cat greeted her son. "How was school today?"

"Fine." He said without offering any more information. Even though her son had always been quiet and teenagers were notorious for being withdrawn, Carter was still more talkative than this.

"And what about your history test, how did that go?"

"Good."

Cat opened her mouth and started to demand her son give her an answer that was longer than one word, but before she could speak she noticed he was no longer looking at her or Kara. She followed his gaze to the wall of televisions in her offices that were all playing continuous loops of Supergirl wreaking havoc on National City. As Carter watched the footage, his expression hardened in a way that Cat had never seen on her son.

"Carter." She said pulling him out of his trance. "Why don't you head on into my office."

Carter followed his mother's instruction and went into the office without saying another word.

"Kiera." She turned to her assistant who was staring through the window at Carter with a strained expression on her face. "Hold all my calls."

"Yes, Ms. Grant." Kara responded, without looking at her boss. Instead, she continued to watch Carter.

Cat walked into her office and closed the door behind her. Carter had deposited his backpack on the ground and was sitting on the couch watching the news feeds. Cat did something she rarely did, and push a button on the remote causing all the screens to shut off simultaneously, letting whatever breaking news happening wait for the moment.

"Carter, I know your dad has already talked to you about everything, but you and I haven't had a chance to talk about what happened with Supergirl." She said sitting down next to her son. "How are you doing with everything."

"Me? I'm fine. You're the one who was thrown off a building and had your life threatened by someone you trusted. I don't know how you could be alright after all that."

I'm not. Cat thought to herself. How could she be when for thirty terrifying seconds she had faced the idea that it was all over? No, she was far from alright whenever she thought back to how close she'd been to never seeing Carter grow up or never having a real relationship with Adam, just when he'd come back into her life. But she was not about to worry her son.

"Well, it was definitely an experience I could have lived without, but I didn't get to where I am without learning to keep going after something traumatic happens. But just because I was the one threatened, doesn't mean you weren't affected too. I know how much you idealize Supergirl and having your hero let—"

"I didn't idealize Supergirl. I mean, yeah, I thought she was cool because she has all those powers and she used them to help people, but now I know how stupid that was. And she is not my hero, not after what she did to you!"

"Carter—"

"She nearly killed you! And if that wasn't bad enough, I believed in her! I thought she was trying to make this city a better place! And now I can't believe such an idiot that I ever trusted that alien freak! What people are saying is right, we can't trust any aliens!"

"Carter stop being so hard on yourself. You have good reasons to trust her. She did save your life and mine."

"Maybe that was part of her plan. She saves a few people and tricks everyone into trusting her."

"Carter, I don't think it's a trick. I am a great judge of character and I know Supergirl better than most people. I know she was sincere about wanting to protect this city.

Then, the other night on the balcony, it was like I was talking to a different person. I don't know what happened to her. Maybe what people are saying, about her being exposed to some sort of radiation that altered her brain, is true. All I know is that no one, not even an alien, just wakes up with a different personality like that without something causing it."

Carter stared at his mother incredulously. "How can you seriously be defending her after what she did to you?"

He had a point, Cat conceded. This was so out of character for her. She was not normally a big believer in second chances but instead thought everyone had to face the consequence of their own actions. And she thought people who made excuses for others were only enabling their poor choices. So why was she so set on defending Supergirl?

Cat rubbed her temples, trying to think of how to articulate her motives, which she herself did not completely understand.

"Because even after the other night, I still owe her my gratitude. Even if she had not also saved my life before, she's saved your life. And that alone is reason enough for me to be eternally grateful. And I feel bad for her. I've seen how devastated she is by the guilt of what she's done."

"Wait. You've seen her?!" Carter asked, rising to his feet.

"I found her on my balcony last night and she apologized for what happened."

"I don't care!" Carter yelled. "I don't want you going near her ever again! She could have hurt you!"

It broke Cat's heart to hear the panic in her son's voice. She rose to her feet and wrapped him in her arms to reassure him that she was okay and right here for him.

"She doesn't want to hurt me." Cat reassured him. She hesitated a second before continuing, hoping what she said next would not do more harm than good, but it was the truth, and she hoped he was mature enough for it. "But Carter if she had really wanted to hurt me she easily could have and even if I had stayed away from her, that wouldn't be enough, not against someone that powerful."

Carter pulled away from the hug to look at his mom, his eyes pleading.

"Mom," He began.

But now it was her turn to interrupt because she couldn't take hearing anymore fear in her son's voice. "Carter, I know you're scared and believe me that is the last thing I want." She'd have Supergirl throw her off a balcony again if it would put an end to her son's suffering. "But like I said she wasn't interested in that. Whatever happened to her is over now, and she just wanted to talk."

"But mom why even take that risk.? Why would you ever trust her again?"

"Well, because I know she needs me to. I know before all this you'd only seen her as this courageous, strong, compassionate woman without any flaws, and a lot of that is my fault. I've tried to hold her to a higher standard and tried to give everyone someone to believe in. And in doing so, I've sold people this idea of a superhero. I forgot that behind that idea is a real person, even if she's not human.

Last night I didn't see a superhero, but a real woman that is terrified that no one is ever going to believe in her again. And I realized she needs us just like we need her. I know it's hard to think about a hero needing people, but all people, even heroes, fall sometimes and they need people to believe in them if they going to get back up. I know she has disappointed you, but I hope you can forgive her because right now she needs people like you to believe in her again, and while right now she needs our help to get back up, I have no doubt that one day soon we are all going to need her again."

"I want to forgive her mom and believe in her again. And I want to help her like she helped me, but I'm not sure I can. I don't know if I can trust her again."

"I know it won't be easy, but I think wanting to forgive someone is the first step."

"Do you think she'll be alright? You said she is devastated by what she did. Even if we believe in her, do you think it will be enough?"

"I don't know. It won't be easy, and if she is going to rise above this, she's going to have to believe in herself again too. But she's Supergirl, even with all her powers, her heart is her greatest strength. I think if anyone can get back up she can."

"I hope so." Carter said softly.

And Cat knew whether or Supergirl did rise above this she'd still have her number one fan. Even if Carter wasn't sure he'd be able to forgive her, Cat knew eventually he would. Like Supergirl her son had a good heart and always tried to see the best in people even when they screwed up.

"Alright, now that you are feeling better you have homework to do."

"Can it wait a few minutes I haven't really had a chance to talk to Kara?"

"Fine," Cat needed to tell Kara she no longer had to hold her calls anyways. "But make it quick. You have homework and I don't pay her to socialize."

"Kara," Carter nearly ran out to meet the assistant with Cat following behind at a normal pace. "how have you been? It's been forever since I last saw you." Then the excitement in his voice suddenly faded. It was hard to gauge with her glasses on, but there appeared to be tears in Kara's eyes.

"Are you alright?" Carter asked, his voice full of concern.

Kara immediately flashed Carter a big smile and replied in a bubbly voice. "Yeah, I'm fine. Just allergies. They're terrible this time of year."

Her answer and change in demeanor seemed to be enough to convince Carter. The tension in his voice disappeared. "Good."

"You're right. It's been too long. What have you been up to?"

As Carter began to fill the assistant on everything that happened and she listened intently to her young friend, Cat watched the exchange.

When she had looked into Kara's background, Cat had found no mention of any kind of allergies. And while even if the girl had been lying and those had been real tears in her eyes, Cat knew they could be caused any number of reasons. Cat did not normally concern herself with her employees' personal lives (as long as it did not affect their work). Yet this time she found herself troubled at the possibility of Kara's distress, especially since deep down, she couldn't help but wondering if it had anything to do with the conversation she just had with her son.

The End

* * *

 _Thanks for reading._


End file.
